Bern (LSZB), and other Swiss aerodromes

Bern is well organized so no particular points besides the ones you mentioned. Just check parking rate and availability as well.

There is Uber available in Lausanne / Montreux area so I would expect the same for Bern.

Gruyere is very nice with a traffic pattern around the village of La Gruyere. Very scenic.
Not that many more in mountains in Southern Switzerland than you mention (Sion of course yes) but one close by is Ecuvillens (Fribourg) and is a bit sporty if you wanna try that. Not that much activity there though, the same for Yverdon. Neuchatel has a bit more activity weekends and is scenic too.

Don’t know top of my head status of last three mentioned re Departure Customs. Otherwise, there’s always Lausanne fairly close by depending on where (how far south) in Switzerland you fly.

But Saanen is always great. Never forget parking next to a Falcon 7X there which came straight from US into Saanen… with that rather tight approach at the end of a 7/8+ hour flight. Those guys had the right stuff!

Let me know if I can be of any further help.

You can use public transport everywhere in Switzerland: it is well organized, usually on time and in some cities faster than cars. You can check the schedules under sbb.ch but I personally use Google maps: it has a very complete coverage of the routes and provides all the information needed, including if it is running on time or if there are delays. E.g. from Bern Airport to downtown Bern it takes 30 minutes with one change as you can see here. You can buy tickets either at the stations (machines) or online (again sbb.ch) or there are mobile apps (again search for SBB).

About airports:

• I always like Locarno LSZL where you can rent a small car for about 40 francs for a day and go to the town or (what I usually prefer) to Ascona.
• I’ve never been to Lugano LSZA by plane but if you want to shoot a steep ILS approach, that’s the place to go . Check requirements though, it might be impossible with your plane and/or without special training.
• Altenrhein (St. Gallen) LSZR is also very nice, especially at this time of the year when there are a lot of boats in the lake, but landing is quite expensive (about 60-70 francs for a Piper Archer if I remember correctly) which, I think, stopped a lot of Swiss pilots (including me) from going there.
• Wangen-Lachen LSPV is very nice, especially if the restaurant is open – that’s my “X hundred franc schnitzel airport”.
• Birrfeld LSZF is the airport with highest small airplane traffic in Switzerland and also has a nice restaurant. It offers customs but they are PPR.
• Grenchen LSZG is also nice and uncomplicated.
• And if you have never been to Zurich LSZH, it’s worth going once IMO. If you are coming VFR check the requirements – you will need to take a short online course. Landing fee is around 30 francs for a Piper Archer but you can request a quote from the MFGZ. Slot requirement and their limited availability are unpleasant but if you plan a day in advance (VFR) usually it works fine. IFR you can book slots several months in advance. Here are some helpful numbers: Handling MFGZ (price about 20-25 francs if I remember correctly but call and ask): +41 44 651 22 11. Slot reservations: +41 43 816 46 37. Slot availability (all LT):
  

Wonderful pics…. Is that fresh snow around Jungfrau?

Peter wrote:

Is that fresh snow around Jungfrau?

It was 32 degrees in Zurich last week and there was no precipitation, so I don’t think there was new snow on Jungfrau.

Was a nice flight, apparently Thanks for sharing.